title: Race and sex-based differences in cytokine immune responses to smallpox vaccine in healthy individuals.
abstract: We assessed the effects of sex, race and ethnicity on smallpox vaccine-induced immune responses in 1071 armed forces members after primary Dryvax(®) smallpox vaccination, including 790 males and 281 females; 580 Caucasians, 217 African-Americans, and 217 Hispanics. Analysis of vaccinia-specific cytokine responses revealed that Caucasians had higher total IFNγ ELISPOT responses (median 57 spot-forming units/SFUs per 200,000 cells, p=0.01) and CD8(+)IFNγ ELISPOT responses (12 SFUs, p<0.001) than African-Americans (51 and 4 SFUs, respectively) and Hispanics (47 and 8 SFUs, respectively). Similarly, Caucasians secreted higher levels of vaccinia-specific IL-2 (p=0.003) and IFNα (p<0.001) compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Males had higher total IFNγ ELISPOT responses (median 55 SFUs) compared to females (41 SFUs, p<0.001). We observed statistically significant sex-related differences in the secretion of IL-2 (p<0.001), IL-1β (p<0.001) and IL-10 (p=0.017). These data suggest that vaccinia-specific cytokine responses following primary smallpox vaccination are significantly influenced by race and sex of vaccinees.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; Program in Translational Immunovirology and Biodefense, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Iana H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Haralambieva
authors.forename: Inna G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Ovsyannikova
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Beth R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Larrabee
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shane Pankratz
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Poland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D012737:Sex Factors; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine